This is a Corps of Engineering (COE) campground on the Caloosahatchee River in southern Florida. There are three such campgrounds on this navigable waterway. They are from west to east: W.P. Franklin Lock & Dam, Ortona South Lock & Dam, and St. Lucie South Lock & Dam. (If you go to one of these places, make sure you are approaching it from the correct side of the river as there are not very many bridges available.) The COE builds and manages dams and locks in 2,400 places in the U.S., and wherever they build a dam, they are also required to build recreational facilities. Nearly always these include campsites with electric and water hookups, and because these are federal facilities, seniors like me get camping spots for half-price or $15 per night for a maximum of 14 days within 30 days for these sites.
These campgrounds tend to be in good shape and well-taken care of. They also usually have electric and water hookups, plus paved spots, which many state parks do not. AND, they are priced well for seniors. I have paid as little as $8 per night at a COE campground, though $15 is most common. You will need a federal senior pass, however, to get these cheap rates. And, of course, you must be 62 to qualify for the senior pass.
The Okeechobee Waterway on the Caloosahatchee River is unusual for Florida because it goes through Lake Okeechobee and changes level with dams. Okeechobee was once a natural lake, but farmers and sugar cane growers wanted a larger lake to help control droughts and flooding, so the lake was raised 20' by creating a large levee around most of the lake, creating a lake that covered 730 sq mi. This caused rivers entering and exiting the lake to be raised with dams and locks, creating a navigable channel that is a favorite with boaters and fishermen. Boaters on the Atlantic side of the state, now have a pleasant and easy short-cut to the Gulf of Mexico.
Warning: Lake Okeechobee and the rivers that enter and exit it are FULL of alligators, so no swimming and no wading, and frankly, I would not be waterboarding anywhere on the lake. Today, I watched a hang glider take off from the day use area across the river, and I hoped he was not going to land in the river!! There are also rumors of bull sharks and piranhas in Lake Okeechobee, and they got there somehow, so just enjoy the birds and fish from one of the piers along the river.
Anyway, the three COE campgrounds along this river are some of my favorite places to stay in Florida!! And here are some photos from my recent stay at W.P. Franklin:
The campground and fishing pier of this state park is in an island in the river, and it is accessed from the north shore by a causeway. Right now my campsite is on the east end of the island, facing the main part of the river. The lock is on the far side of the river from me, so it is not possible to get up as close to it as you can in Ortona or St. Lucie.
This is my site--nice and big with electric and water hookups. All sites have a view of the river or the quiet water areas on the north side of the island.
Some views of the campground:
These are white ibis. You see them often following cattle in ranch land. Here, I call them the cleanup crew as walk go about in little flocks eating bugs and worms as they go.
This is a common gallinule. It swims like a duck, but it does not have a duck beak or duck webbed feet. It does have very long toes on its feet that do allow it to walk on floating vegetation, however.
Just a parked boat.
The boat ramp.
The walkway to the fishing pier.
View up-river from the walkway.
The pier itself. It has two levels, so it is longer than it looks in this view.
This guy was waiting for someone to throw out extra bait or to pull their line out so he could steal bait. At first, because of the stripes and shape, I though he was an American Bittern, but Bitterns don't have stripes. Did some research and decided he is a young Black-Capped Night Heron. He has the correct black cap and has some of his juvenile stripes, but is missing the long white breeding feathers on the back of the cap, so he is probably almost-but-not-quite-mature. I saw him there for three days, so his technique of hanging around people fishing must work!
This is the far end of the pier, which is at a lower level.
The dam is now dumping a lot of water. For one thing, right now there is only a couple of feet of water level difference between the sides.
Hard to see from this side of the river, but this telephoto view shows a boat coming out of the lock on the far side.
View of the west end of the campground from the pier.
And the dump station is always last!!!
